Week in Review: Travel Industry News

For week ending 29 July 2016.

In travel news last week, Xiamen Airlines started flying to North America and SilkAir expands their services in China. In hotel news, Starwood open a new luxury property in Tokyo and Novotel debuts in Xian.

All this and more in our weekly news round up brought to you by FCM Travel Solutions.

Xiamen Airlines starts flying to North America

Xiamen Airlines has launched new direct service from Xiamen to Vancouver.

The new trans-Pacific route, which will operate three times a week and will deploy a three class Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft. Flights will depart Xiamen's Gaoqi International Airport every Monday, Thursday and Saturday, the return flights will then leave the Canadian city on every Tuesday, Friday and Sunday.

Novotel makes debut in Xi'an

Located next to the new Xi'an Incity shopping mall, the new Novotel offers 275 rooms and suites, a restaurant and bar, two Chinese private dining rooms and a fitness centre. For the MICE market, the hotel also has 365m² of event space comprising four function rooms that can accommodate up to 110 guests.

Plaza Premium opens first airport lounges in Taiwan

Located at Taipei's Taoyuan International Airport and available to all departing passengers, regardless of ticket class, the two new Plaza Premium lounges span more than 2,500m² and can seat approximately 600 people in Terminals 1 & 2. The new lounges offer a range of facilities, such as showers, VIP rooms, meeting rooms, multiple electrical outlets, TVs, free Wi-Fi, newspapers and magazines, and F&B from live cooking stations. The basic lounge package in both terminals starts at TW$1,300 (US$41) for two hours.

Starwood launches first luxury hotel in Tokyo

The Prince Gallery Tokyo Kioicho, is located in a new upscale development called Tokyo Garden Terrace Kioicho, which also features commercial, residential, retail and entertainment spaces. Located on the 30th to 36th floors of a skyscraper, the hotel features 250 rooms and suites and four F&B outlets, including Japanese and international restaurants and a "sky lounge". Other facilities include a spa, fitness centre, large indoor pool and business centre.

SilkAir expands in China

Commencing on 21 November 2016, SilkAir will launch new services to Fuzhou. Operating four times a week, SilkAir will deploy a two-class Boeing 737 aircraft on the route and flights will depart Singapore's Changi Airport every Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday. Following the addition of Fuzhou, SilkAir will serve a total of eight Chinese cities: Changsha, Chengdu, Chongqing, Fuzhou, Kunming, Shenzhen, Wuhan and Xiamen.

Sands reveal opening date for Macau's new Parisian resort

Located next to the Studio City resort on Macau's Cotai Strip, it features a half-scale replica of the Eiffel Tower, which will be overlooked by more than a third of the complex's 3,000 rooms and suites. The Parisian Macao features a large casino with 450 table games and 2,500 slot machines, a 1,200-seat theatre, spa and fitness facilities, an outdoor pool and water park, extensive conference and banqueting space, and a large shopping mall which Las Vegas Sands says will be "reminiscent of Paris' famed Champs Elysees".